Weekly Sale Item: Sub.Terra

This week’s sale item comes from the days of the Hypnos/Foundry partnership:
“Sub.Terra” is an experimental compilation featuring Interstitial, Vidna Obmana, Saul Stokes, M. Bentley, and Vir Unis, and we’ve low-priced it at just $4.99 through April 6th.

The latest release from Foundry Records, “sub.terra” is a fascinating compilation based around the concept of creating a series of pieces using only a trumpet as source material. the artists all started with a set of trumpet recordings and from there processed and treated the tracks until they came up with the works contained herein.

and a very impressive collection of works it is! featuring tracks by Vir Unis, vidnaObmana, Saul Stokes, Michael Bentley and Interstitial, “sub.terra” provides not only an excellent group of challenging pieces, it also serves as an introduction to some of the best artists in the field of electronic music today.

with each of the artists contributing their own interpretations, each adding their own particular sounds and flaours, “sub.terra” crosses a range of styles and ideals. from the dark drones of Interstitial, through the percussive groove of Vir Unis, the space and movement of vidnaObmana, the hypnotic chilled electronics of Saul Stokes, and the dark deep-space explorations of Michael Bentley, “sub.terra” is an excellent collection, and well worth checking out. –rik maclean – ping things

This release from features 61 minutes of collaborative electronic ambience.

The project was initiated by Interstitial (aka John Koch-Northrup), who created a basic theme that was then provided to a selection of notable ambient synthesists who elaborated on the original template.

The CD begins with Interstitial’s original theme. An assemblage of ethereal tonalities congeal to generate a distinctly subterranean harmony of subtly varying textures, often pitching shrill enough to emulate horns echoing from cavernous strata.

Then Vir Unis (aka John Strate-Hootman) applies whispering beats and a dreamier sense to the caverous reverberations. While those beats start out as barely noticable, their soft patter rises to more definable status, evoking an anticipatory tension to the mix. Soon, the rhythms evolve into an engaging enhancement that rivals the basic template for the audience’s attention.

The next track finds VidnaObmana embellishing the template with ghostly undertones that accentuate the echoing quality of Interstitial’s melody, changing the mix into a haunting procession through underground tunnels.

Then Saul Stokes takes a shot at mutating the basic theme, transforming Interstitial’s caverous mood into an interstellar medium full of twinkling stars and breathing nebulae. Rhythms emerge to attribute more body to the infinity, and those tempos continue to grow, overwhelming the underlying structure.

Which leads to a remix by Michael Bentley (aka eM), who dissembles the template into quite a different sonic creature. Textures become more elongated, creating a more suspenseful ambience punctuated by horn-bursts of utmost clarity. The introduction of quasi-radio emissions render the piece into a pulsating deconstruction.

The finale belongs to Interstitial, who blends elements from all these collaborators together to produce a magnum opus of ambient proportions. (While the basic template and the other remixes are between 8 to 11 minutes long, this piece clocks in at over 16 minutes.) Expert manipulation infuses aspects from each earlier treatment into the basic theme, producing a lush track that flourishes with variations while taking a more introspective tact. –soniccuriosity.com

We’re down to just a single case of these now, so grab one soon, before they’re all gone!